Thursday, Jan. 29
Holy Komodo (Tour Kickoff) w/ Sawtooth, Sun Eggs Few bands in Olympia are as unapologetically fun as Holy Komodo. Thick bass lines, seductive harmonies, and infectious disco grooves (supplied by drummer Joel Skavdahl, that’s his art on the cover), cut easily through the fog of cynicism that clogs Olympia’s musical arteries. Their mission is to make you dance, so for a bit you can stop sulkily contemplating Foucault or whatever. This is their last local show before a nationwide tour over the next couple months so catch them now. Sawtooth, meanwhile, deliver the impeccable country songwriting of duo Alex River and Steven Smith, in a lineup newly rounded out with bass and drums. Sun Eggs bring an onslaught of garage surf that could fit easily on a 2000’s PDX Pop Now compilation. The Guest House, 8 p.m. $5 – Issac Scott
Friday, Jan. 30
Mary Lattimore, Weyes Blood, Jen Grady Harpist Mary Lattimore has been behind some of the finest sounds on indie rock records in the past decade. Her resume includes work with Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Meg Baird and Kurt Vile. On her own—check out her solo album The Withdrawing Room—she tends to combine minimalist harp technique with trippy tape-loop ambiance. The obvious comparison is to Joanna Newsom, but Lattimore feels more assured in her clean melodic lines that avoid convolution. Olympia’s Jen Grady is also an accomplished cellist and singer, and her recent work as part of You Are Plural is exquisite chamber pop that avoids pretension.. Obsidian, 414 4th Ave E. 9 p.m. $7. 21+ – Issac Scott
Friday, Feb. 6 – Feb. 11
“Foxcatcher” at Olympia Film Society Director Bennett Miller’s new film “Foxcatcher” is an intelligent drama based on a real murder case, set during the lead up to the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul. The film is too subtle—and, frankly, too strange—to make the kind of simple grand statement Hollywood audiences crave. Rather, the film meditates murkily on the complicated, unresolved nature of American life, and dissatisfaction with patriotic values. The cast features Channing Tatum as a champion wrestler living in the shadow of his more famous gold medal wrestler brother, played by Mark Ruffalo. The story unfolds with Steve Carell as a billionaire on a mission to elevate American wrestling to the top of Olympic glory, and inspire the nation. With fantastic performances, and two of them from unlikely candidates Tatum and Carell, “Foxcatcher” proves to be a film worth seeing. (Check out our full film review here.) Olympia Film Society, 206 5th Ave E. www.olympiafilmsociety.org for showtimes. – Sara Fabian & Issac Scott
Saturday, Feb. 7
GAG, WEED, So Pitted, Broken Water Vancouver BC’s WEED recognizes the pop undercurrent that prolongs grunge’s appeal: they conceal consonance under unwieldy layers of noise. The aesthetic seems torn between something accessible and something introverted and world-negating. Broken Water, too, while outwardly angsty and cynical, provide songwriting that cautiously approaches pop-rock territory. GAG is perhaps Olympia’s most consistent and relentless act. You can count on them deliver their signature nihilistic brutality, and the spectacle remains fresh each time. Obsidian, 414 4th Ave E. 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. ALL AGES – Issac Scott
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